| Inah Canabarro Lucas | |
 Canabarro Lucas on her 110th birthday in 2018 | |
| Birth: | 8 June 1908 Sao Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
| Age: | 116 years, 91 days |
| Relatives: |  BRA
|
| Validated | |
Inah Canabarro Lucas (born 8 June 1908), known as Sister Inah [Portuguese: Irmã Inah], is a Brazilian supercentenarian who is currently the oldest known (validated) living person in Latin America and the oldest living nun in the world whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).
Biography
Early Life
Inah Canabarro Lucas was born in Sao Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on 8 June 1908 (though claims her birthday is 27 May). Her parents were Joao Antonio Lucas and Mariana Canabarro Lucas. As a child, she was so skinny that many people didn't think she would live past the age of seven. She is the great-granddaughter of General David Canabarro. Her father died in combat in 1923.
Canabarro Lucas studied at the Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul. Around 1928, she moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, where she became a nun. In 1930, she returned to Brazil to teach Portuguese and mathematics at a school in Tijuca, a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. In the early 1940s, she moved back to Santana do Livramento where she worked as a teacher.
Later Life
Canabarro Lucas currently lives in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, at the age of 116 years, 91 days (claims 116 years, 103 days). At the age of 110, she began having some mobility difficulties and had to start using a walker. On 25 January 2021, at the age of 112, she received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making her one of oldest people to receive the vaccine. She credits her longevity to God.
Canabarro Lucas became the oldest validated living person in Brazil following the death of Antonia da Santa Cruz on 23 January 2022. She later became the oldest validated living person in the whole of both South and Latin America following the death of Colombian Sofia Rojas on 30 July 2022.
On 2 January 2022, at the age of 113 years, 208 days, Canabarro Lucas surpassed the age of Luzia Mohrs to become the oldest Brazilian ecclesiastical person ever. She is currently the second-oldest validated nun ever, after Lucile Randon.
In October 2022, Canabarro Lucas contracted COVID-19 while she was hospitalized, but was later able to recover from the disease in November, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the disease.
Following the death of Lucile Randon on 17 January 2023, Canabarro Lucas became the oldest living nun in the world. She is currently the second-oldest living person in the world whose age is validated by the GRG, after Tomiko Itooka.
On her 115th birthday in June 2023, Canabarro Lucas was visited by newly-appointed GRG Correspondent for Brazil, Dr. Angelo Jose Goncalves Bos, who presented her with the official GRG plaque recognizing her as the oldest living person in South America. According to the GRG, she is the fifth supercentenarian in South America who reached the age of 115, after Maria Capovilla of Ecuador (1889–2006), Francisca Celsa dos Santos of Brazil (1904–2021), Antonia da Santa Cruz of Brazil (1905–2022), and Casilda Benegas de Gallego of Paraguay/Argentina (1907–2022).
Gallery
References
- GRG World Supercentenarian Rankings List Gerontology Research Group
- 103 anos de paixão pelo Inter. Internacional, 27 May 2011
- FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO MADRE INAH CANABARRO MINHA AMIGA Julio Gomez on Facebook, 30 May 2016
- Freira de Porto Alegre tem 108 anos e está sempre em atividade Diário Gaúcho, 3 June 2016
- Conterrâneas, amanhã a Madre Inah faz 110 anos!! Liana D' Abreu on Facebook, 26 May 2018
- Freira gaúcha completa 110 anos Gauchazh Almanaque, 26 May 2018
- Torcedora completa 111 anos e ganha festa do Internacional diario da manha, 31 May 2019
- 112th birthday Facebook Post, 27 May 2020
- Religiosa de 112 anos recebe a primeira dose de vacina contra a covid-19 em Porto Alegre GZH, 26 January 2021
- Parabéns tia Inah, 113 anos de pura alegria!!! Carmen Martins Costa on Facebook, 27 May 2021
- Continuamos esta jornada com a nossa querida irmã Inah Canabarro Lucas de 114 anos. Irmãs Teresianas on Facebook, 12 May 2022
- Hoje comemoramos 114 anos da nossa querida Irmã Teresiana, Inah Canabarro Lucas Colégio Santa Teresa de Jesus - Porto Alegre on Facebook, 27 May 2022
- Mention of COVID-19 survival, 16 November 2022
- Colorada e fã de chocolate, freira gaúcha completa 115 anos neste sábado GZH, 27 May 2023
- BRAZIL: The Gerontology Research Group honors Inah Canabarro Lucas on her 115th birthday World Supercentenarian Forum, 10 June 2023
- Pessoa mais velha da América Latina tem 115 anos e é acompanhada pelo Instituto de Geriatria e Gerontologia da PUCRS Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), 17 August 2023
| World's Oldest Living Nun Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Anne Samson • Fernande Charpentier • Eugenie Blanchard • Maria de Jaeger • Marie-Josephine Gaudette • Lucile Randon • Inah Canabarro Lucas |
| Brazil's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E) |
|
Anisio Rodrigues Alves • Placida Maria do Livramento • Ana Nogueira de Lucas • Maria Gomes Valentim • Maria Amorim Gularte • Julia Maria Francisca Simao • Luzia Mohrs • Francisca Celsa dos Santos • Antonia da Santa Cruz • Inah Canabarro Lucas |